Playing cards, a deck comprised thereof, and a method for playing cards that employs such deck

ABSTRACT

A playing card that is suitable for use in a deck of playing cards to teach young children (i.e., ages 3 to 6 years) an alphabet or other basic skill has a playing face and a rear face where (a) the playing face bears an (1) indicia, (2) a first smaller version of the same indicia in the upper left hand corner, and (3) a second smaller version of the same indicia in the upper right hand corner, and where all versions of the indicia on the playing face are in an upright position and the upper left and upper right hand corners of the playing face are at the top of the playing card; and (b) the rear face bears a design that indicates the top of the playing card. Preferably, the playing face is devoid of any other graphics other than the indicia. A deck comprises one or more sets of the forgoing playing card can be used to play concentration, rummy, war, old maid, go fish, and many other card games.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to playing cards for use in card games intended for young children (about three to six years old) that combine education and amusement into a wonderful learning experience.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0002] A comprehensive description of the prior art is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,432 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

[0003] While many attempts have been made to design a deck of playing cards that is both educational and entertaining for young children (about 3 to about 6 years old) who are first learning basic skills such as the alphabet, these prior designs fail to solve some significant problems. First, many playing cards designed for use by young children have a single letter depicted (1) in the body of the playing face of the card, (2) in an upright position in the upper left hand corner of the playing face of the card, and (3) in an inverted position in the lower right hand corner of the playing face of the card. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,276,940 and 5,417,432. The reason for diagonal positioning the letter upright in the upper left hand corner of the playing face and inverted in the lower right hand corner is to compensate for the fact that, when the cards are dealt or taken from the deck with the cards' playing face down, the players do not know which way the playing face is oriented.

[0004] However, there are downsides to having the single letter depicted in an upright position in the upper left hand corner of the playing face of the card and diagonally across the playing face in an inverted position in the lower right hand corner of the playing face of the card. For example, the inverted representation of the letter can be confusing to young children who are just beginning to learn the alphabet because the children do not know that the letter is inverted and, therefore, may believe it to be the correct or another correct orientation of the letter.

[0005] In addition, many cards intended for young children first learning the alphabet have a cute picture, a word, and/or other indicia on the playing face of the card that can potentially distract young children's attention from and, therefore, decrease their ability to concentrate on and learn the letter represented on the playing face of the card.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a deck of playing cards for use by young children (about 3 to 6 years old) in learning such basic skills as the alphabet which (1) does not confuse young children with respect to the correct orientation of the letter being displayed on the playing face of the card, and (2) which does not distract their attention from and, thereby, decrease their ability to learn the letter or other matter depicted on the playing face of the card.

[0007] The present invention solves the need set forth in the preceding paragraph by providing a playing card suitable for use in a deck of playing cards where the playing card has a playing face and a rear face and the playing face bears (a) a single letter or character of an alphabet or language, (b) a first smaller version of the same letter or character in the upper left hand corner, and (c) a second smaller version of the same letter or character in the upper right hand corner. An important requirement of the present invention is that all versions of the single letter or character depicted on the playing face of the card must always be shown in the upright position. This requirement removes any confusion young children may have in determining the correct orientation of the single letter or character shown on the playing face of the card.

[0008] In order to avoid needless distraction to young children, and thereby help them to concentrate on and learn the single letter or character shown on the playing face of the card, a preferred embodiment of the present invention further requires that the playing face be devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter or character shown in the body of the playing face, (b) the first smaller version of the same single letter or character shown in the upper left hand corner of the playing face, and (c) the second smaller version of the same single letter or character shown in the upper right hand corner of the playing face.

[0009] To overcome the problem of young children not knowing the upright orientation of the playing card when the playing cards are being dealt or taken playing face down from the deck, the present invention also requires that the rear face of the card bear a design that indicates the top of the playing card. This requirement enables young children to know which way the card should be placed in their hands before they actually see the playing face of the card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] An exemplary playing card of the present invention is shown in the drawings where:

[0011]FIG. 1 depicts the playing face of an exemplary playing card within the scope of the present invention; and

[0012]FIG. 2 depicts the corresponding rear face of the exemplary playing card within the scope of the present invention.

[0013] It should be noted that the same numbers in the two figures represent the same element of the playing card of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] With respect to FIG. 1, a playing card 10 within the scope of the present invention has a single letter 12 on the playing face 14 of the card 10. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the letter is B. The present invention also requires that a first smaller version 12 a of the single letter 12 be in the upright position in the upper left hand corner 16 of the playing face 14 and that a second smaller version 12 b of the single letter 12 be in the upright position in the upper right hand corner 18 of the playing face 14. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1, third and/or forth smaller versions (12 c and 12 d, respectively) of the single letter 12 or other indicia shown on the playing face 14 of the card 10 can be present in the upright position in the lower left and/or lower right hand corners (30 and 32, respectively) of the playing face 14 of the card 10.

[0015] As noted above, an important requirement of the present invention is that all versions of the single letter 12 of the alphabet depicted on the playing face 14 of the card 10 must always be in the upright position. This requirement removes any confusion young children (i.e., children between the ages of about 3 to about 6 years old) may have in determining the correct orientation of the single letter 12 shown on the playing face 14 of the card 10.

[0016] To avoid needless distraction to young children, and thereby help them to concentrate on and learn the single letter shown on the playing face 14 of the card 10, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the playing face 14 is required to be devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter of the alphabet 12 shown in the body of the playing face 14, (b) the first smaller version 12 a of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the upper left hand corner 16 of the playing face 14, (c) the second smaller version 12 b of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the upper right hand corner 18 of the playing face 14, (d) the third smaller version 12 c of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the lower left hand corner 30 of the playing face 14, (e) the fourth smaller version 12 d of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the lower right hand corner 32 of the playing face 14. More preferably, the playing face is devoid of any other indicia other than (a) the single letter of the alphabet 12 shown in the body of the playing face 14, (b) the first smaller version 12 a of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the upper left hand corner 16 of the playing face 14, and (c) the second smaller version 12 b of the same single letter 12 of the alphabet shown in the upper right hand corner 18 of the playing face 14.

[0017] To inform young children of the upright orientation of the playing face 14 of the card 10 when the playing card 10 is being dealt or taken playing face 10 down from the deck, the present invention also requires, as shown in FIG. 2, that the rear face 22 of the card 10 bear a design 24 that indicates the top 20 of the playing card 10. This requirement enables young children to know which way the card 10 should be placed in their hands to orient the playing face 14 of the card 10 in the upright position prior to the children seeing the playing face 14 of the card 10.

[0018] The playing card 10 is preferably the size of a standard poker card (i.e., about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) wide), but cards varying by about ±1 inch (2.54 cm) in height and about ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) in width, and generally by not more than about ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) in height and not more than about ±0.25 inch (0.635 cm) in width, can also be used.

[0019] The deck can comprise one, two, three, and generally no more than four sets of playing cards 10. For example, the deck that is intended for use by English speaking children playing card games can comprise four sets of cards where (1) each set comprises 26 playing cards 10, (2) each playing card 10 of the first set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed capital letter, (3) each playing card 10 of the second set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed lower case letter, (4) each playing card 10 of the third set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet in upper case script, and (5) each playing card 10 of the fourth set depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet in lower case script. Alternatively, a deck can comprise two sets of cards where, for example, each playing card 10 of both sets depicts a different single letter of the English alphabet as a printed capital letter. Optionally, the deck could also comprise one or more Joker cards and one or more instructional and/or informational cards.

[0020] Decks comprising one or more sets of the playing card 10 can be manufactured by techniques well know to those skilled in the art and can be used to play numerous well know card games such as concentration, go fish, old maid, war, and rummy. For example, alphabet concentration can be played with 1 to 4 players. To illustrate, for English speaking children, the deck employed in alphabet concentration comprises at least two sets of playing cards 10 where each set comprises 26 playing cards 10 and each playing card 10 of each set displays a different single letter 12 of the English alphabet. A grid is constructed by placing six or more pairs of playing cards 10 playing face 14 down, where each pair of playing cards 10 displays the same letter 12. The more advanced the children are in learning the alphabet, the bigger the grid can be. Typical grid sizes are (1) three columns by two rows comprising three pairs of playing cards 10, (2) four columns by three rows comprising six pairs of playing cards 10, (3) four columns by four rows comprising eight pairs of playing cards 10, (4) five columns by four rows comprising ten pairs of playing cards 10, and (5) six columns by four rows comprising twelve pairs of playing cards 10. The children (and any adults playing with them) rotate turns in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The player whose turn it is turns over two of the cards 10 and says the name of each letter 12 displayed. (If a child does not recognize any letter 12, tell him the name of the letter 12.) If both cards 10 show the same letter 12, the player removes the pair of playing cards 10 from the grid and goes again. When the player turns over two playing cards 10 whose letters 12 do not match that player returns the two unmatched cards 10 to their playing face 14 down position in the grid and the turn advances to the next player. The game continues until the players have collected all pairs of playing cards 10 from the grid and the player with the most number of playing cards 10 wins. Accordingly, alphabet concentration is a very entertaining and assists young children in reviewing (or even learning) the letters 12 of the alphabet as well in sharpening their ability to concentrate.

[0021] Alphabet war is another example of a card game that can be played with the playing cards 10 of the present invention. In alphabet war, the deck employed comprises at least two sets of playing cards 10 where, for English speaking players, each set comprises 26 playing cards 10 and each playing card 10 of each set displays a different single letter 12 of the English alphabet. The entire deck is dealt evenly to generally 2 to 4 players. Each player keeps their playing cards 10 playing face 14 down, places the top playing card 10 on a playing surface with the playing face 14 up, and states the name of the letter 12 displayed on his playing card 10. The player whose playing card 10 displays the letter 12 furthermost into the alphabet wins that round and takes all the cards 10 played in that round. (For example, a “B” beats an “A” and a “P beats an “H”.) War is declared when two or more players put down playing cards 10 that display the same letter 12 and such letter 12 is higher than any other letter 12 displayed on all the other playing faces 14 of the playing cards played in that round. When war is declared, (a) the other players are out of that round and (b) each of the two or more players who put down the playing cards 10 that displayed the same letter 12 now place an additional three cards 10 playing face 14 down in a row and end their row by placing a fourth playing card 10 playing face 14 up. The player who ended her row with the letter 12 furthermost in the alphabet wins that round and takes all the cards 10 played in that round. However, if two or more players again put down playing cards 10 that again meet the requirements for declaring war, war is again declared and played. Alphabet war can continue until the players have played each of the cards 10 initially dealt to them (in which case the player with the most cards 10 wins) or can continue until one player has accumulated all the cards 10 in the deck. Hence, alphabet war is a fun and also assists young children in reviewing (or even learning) the letters 12 of the alphabet and helps them to learn the order that the letters 12 appear in alphabet.

[0022] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth above in detail, some modifications can be made to the preferred version without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in addition to a deck comprising one or more sets of playing cards 10 where each playing card 10 of each set bears a different, single English letter 12 per playing card 10, each playing card 10 of each set can comprise a different single letter 12 or character of virtually any alphabet or language (e.g., Spanish, French, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). Furthermore, instead of letters 12 or characters of an alphabet or a language, the deck can be comprised of a plurality of playing cards 10 where each playing card 10 depicts a different geometrical shape or a different color. Accordingly, the foregoing alternative embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A playing card suitable for use in a deck of playing cards, the playing card having a playing face and a rear face where: (a) the playing face bears an indicia, a first smaller version of the same indicia in the upper left hand corner, a second smaller version of the same indicia in the upper right hand corner, a third smaller version of the same indicia in the lower left hand corner and a fourth smaller version of the same indicia in the lower right hand corner, the upper left and upper right hand corners of the playing face being at the top of the playing card; (b) all versions of the indicia on the playing face are in an upright position; (c) the playing face of the playing card is substantially devoid of any other graphics; (d) the rear face bears a design that indicates the top of the playing card; and (e) the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±1 inch (2.54 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) wide.
 2. The playing card of claim 1 where the indicia are selected from the group consisting a single letter of an alphabet, a single character of a language, a single geometric shape, and a single color.
 3. The playing card of claim 1 where the indicia are selected from the group consisting a single letter of an alphabet and a single character of a language.
 4. The playing card of claim 1 where the playing face of the playing card is devoid of any other graphics.
 5. The playing card of claim 1 where the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.25 inch (0.635 cm) wide.
 6. The playing card of claim 1 where the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) wide.
 7. A playing card suitable for use in a deck of playing cards, the playing card having a playing face and a rear face where: (a) the playing face bears an indicia, a first smaller version of the same indicia in the upper left hand corner, a second smaller version of the same indicia in the upper right hand corner, the upper left and upper right hand corners of the playing face being at the top of the playing card; (b) all versions of the indicia on the playing face are in an upright position; (c) the playing face of the playing card is substantially devoid of any other graphics; (d) the rear face bears a design that indicates the top of the playing card; and (e) the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±1 inch (2.54 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) wide.
 8. The playing card of claim 7 where the indicia are selected from the group consisting a single letter of an alphabet, a single character of a language, a single geometric shape, and a single color.
 9. The playing card of claim 7 where the indicia are selected from the group consisting a single letter of an alphabet and a single character of a language.
 10. The playing card of claim 7 where the playing face of the playing card is devoid of any other graphics.
 11. The playing card of claim 7 where the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.25 inch (0.635 cm) wide.
 12. The playing card of claim 7 where the playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) wide.
 13. A deck of playing cards comprising at least one set of the playing cards where (a) each set comprises at least n playing cards; (b) each of the n playing cards of each set has a playing face and a rear face; (c) each playing face of the n playing cards of each set bears a different indicia selected from the group consisting a single letter of an alphabet comprising n letters and a single character of a language comprising at least n characters, a first smaller version of the same indicia in the upper left hand corner, and a second smaller version of the same indicia in the upper right hand corner, the upper left and upper right hand corners of the playing face of each playing card being at the top of the playing card; (d) all versions of the indicia on the playing face of each of the n playing cards are in an upright position; (e) the rear face of each of the n playing cards bears a design that indicates the top of each of the n playing cards; and (f) each of the n playing card is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±1 inch (2.54 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) wide.
 14. The deck of claim 13 comprising at least two sets of playing cards, where n is 26 and each playing face of the 26 playing cards of each set bears a different single letter of the English alphabet, the first smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet is in the upper left hand corner, and the second smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet is in the upper right hand corner.
 15. The deck of claim 14 where the playing face of each of the 26 playing cards is substantially devoid of any other graphics.
 16. The deck of claim 14 where the playing face of each of the 26 playing cards is devoid of any other graphics.
 17. The deck of claim 13 where n is 26, each playing face of the 26 playing cards of each set bears a different single letter of the English alphabet, the first smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet is in the upper left hand corner, and the second smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet is in the upper right hand corner, and each playing face of the 26 playing cards further bears a third smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet in the lower left hand corner, and a fourth smaller version of the same single letter of the English alphabet in the lower right hand corner.
 18. The deck of claim 17 where the playing face of each of the 26 playing cards is substantially devoid of any other graphics.
 19. The deck of claim 17 where the playing face of each of the 26 playing cards is devoid of any other graphics.
 20. The deck of claim 13 where each of the n playing cards is about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) ±0.5 inch (1.27 cm) high by about 2.5 inches (6.95 cm) ±0.25 inch (0.635 cm) wide. 